Suck Me Dry
by bigwhoopers
Summary: A mistake with her best friend's boy friend leaves Bonnie with responsibilities she wasn't quite sure she could handle. Damon hates her, but they have to work together if they want to do this right.
1. Chapter 1

He hated when she showed up to his job like this, she knew that, but what else was she suppose to do?

Bonnie fumbled to unstrap the gurgling infant from the handy down car seat she had gotten from her aunt the day four months ago when her son, Giovanni, was born. It was stained with yellow and brown stains, but it was safe. She ignored how the baby pulled on her hair and smiled up at her with shinning blue eyes, her mind focused on her task.

The baby on her hip, she retrieved the pacifier from the seat and popped it into his mouth. She slammed the door of her dirty, green car, hard, not because of anger but because something was wrong with it and it had to be closed that way. She headed towards the doors of the grill.

She threw the doors open and stepped into the air conditioned building, her green eyes instantly zeroing in Damon Salvatore, her child's father. As she expected, he wasn't standing behind the bar, serving drinks, but sitting on the other side, knocking back shots. His shift had ended two hours ago after all.

He was laughing and talking with his friends Enzo and Alaric, which made her mad because here he was sitting in an air conditioned restaurant, getting drunk, while she was at home unable to wash clothes or anything because the electricity had been cut off again.

She took a few calming breaths though, not wanting to fight with Damon. She knew Damon hated her and he could be quite hurtful when he wanted to be. After the day she was having the last thing she needed was to be verbally ripped apart.

Before she could even make it over to him, the man behind the bar nodded in her direction and said something to Damon. He turned to face her a second later, expression clearly annoyed.

Damon hated her for the drunken one nightstand a little over a year before. He blamed her because he was drunk and she wasn't when they had sex and conceived Gino. He said he would have never slept with her if he hadn't been. He would have never cheated on the love of his life Elena Gilbert, Bonnie's once best friend.

Damon wasn't the only one that hated Bonnie for what happened that night, Elena and all of her friends turned her back on her. She understood. What she had done was a mistake, a horrible one. It was a long nine months for Bonnie, her father kicked her out and she was forced to move into Ms. Athena's house where she was allowed to live there as long as she took care of the old woman who literally must of thought she was her slave or something until Caroline forgave her after running into her in the store, heavily pregnant and bogged down with bags and bags of Ms. Athena's shopping. Caroline had recently started college and lived off campus in an apartment paid for by her guilty, now openly gay father, and she invited Bonnie to come live with her.

Damon was invisible during her whole pregnancy, Caroline did tell her how he had spent most of that time trying to win Elena back, begging and pleading. Bonnie hadn't really wanted to hear about all of that, so Damon and Elena were talked about very rarely.

Somehow, Damon did show up the day she gave birth. She knew it was Caroline and maybe Stefan's doing, but never mentioned it. Hate for her still swam in his eyes, but he seemed to soften a little when he looked at his son. He had declared than that he would be a better father than his had been to him and Stefan and that was how Bonnie found herself living with Damon.

As she reached him, she shifted her child and glanced at Alaric and Enzo, who both were looking at her now but didn't make a move to leave, though Alaric was smiling politely and looking nervous.

"What?" Damon questioned bluntly. His eyes moved from her to his son and back again.

Bonnie swallowed her anger. "Can we talk alone?" She asked, hold on her soon tightening to ease her nerves.

Damon rolled his eyes and scoffed. "I already know you've come here to complain about something, so just go and get it over with."

"You could try being a little more civil, Damon." She snapped. "I didn't come here to pick a fight with you."

He turned his back to her and threw back another shot. "What do you want than?" He grumbled.

"The power..." she began, "it got cut off. I can't wash Gino's clothes and its too hot in the apartment for him."

Damon's back was stiff and he still didn't turn to face her. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Bonnie glared at his back. "I only got paid ninety dollars this week and that went towards the water bill and my car. _You_ said you would pay it!"

"I will," he motioned for another drink.

Bonnie stared at his back. "When?" she demanded. "When, Damon, you did this same shit a month ago."

"I said I will, damn it," he whirled around on her, blue eyes electric hot. "Fuck! Do you always have to get on my case? Can I just have one day without all of your whining and bitching? Your life fucking mission must be to ruin mine, is that it, Bonnie? Its not enough that Elena doesn't want anything to do with me and I'm stuck with your useless ass and a kid I don't even want!" Bonnie's blood ran cold.

"Damon," Alaric quickly said with a deep frown.

"No, Ric, its true," Damon continued to rage. Every eye in the girl was now on them. "I don't know how she fucking can show her face in public after the fact that everyone in this shit hole town knows she practically raped me!"

Bonnie could feel her tears coming and Gino was now whimpering, feeling the tenseness around him and because of his father's raised voice, she knew it was time for her to go. It was a bad idea for her to come here anyway. She should have just gone to the library with Gino to keep him away from the heat.

She swallowed with a lot of difficulty, wanting to save some dignity, she forced her tears back and rubbed her son's tiny back.

"You know what, Damon?" She said with a level voice. "Go to hell, you weren't that drunk that night." She shouted. "And if you don't want Gino, fine. You don't have to be apart of his life, we'll be gone tomorrow." A useless threat and they both knew it. Bonnie still swerved around on her heels and marched out of the Grill.

(Suck Me Dry.)

Bonnie watched her son greedily suck down the milk from his bottle as she balanced her phone against her ear. She was currently sitting in the children section of the Mystic Falls library.

"I'm fine, Caroline." Bonnie said for the tenth time since Caroline had called her after what hearing what happened from Stefan who had heard from Alaric. "I know," Bonnie mumbled distractedly as she listened to all of the violent things Caroline promised to do to Damon. "I don't think Gino will appreciate being called GeeGee when he's older, Caroline." She laughed upon hearing Caroline's nickname for her son. "No I cannot borrow any more money from you, Caroline. I'll figure out something. Yeah, I'm sure." She sighed. "He sort of does have the right to hate me, Caroline," she said sadly but quickly regretted it when Caroline went off in a rant. She winced. "You hated me for a little while to, seven months if I'm not mistaken." Bonnie reminded. She listened as Caroline went into another rant about how she was sorry and how Bonnie had suffered enough and how everyone was entitled to make mistakes. Bonnie kept it to herself that sleeping with her best friend's boyfriend was a little more than a mistake.

That day, Stefan's birthday party, she had been in a bad head space. She had found out that her mom, who abandoned her when she was quite young was having another baby, mind you, she already had a younger brother that her mother decided to stick around and raise with her new husband. Her dad had slapped her because she had cursed at his girl friend and accused her of flirting with all of her male friends. Then Elena was too busy complaining about how she still had feelings for Stefan and how she regretted sometimes breaking up with him for Damon and how angry she was at herself for being resentful of Caroline who was now dating Stefan to listen to Bonnie's problems. Worse of all was the fact that she had always liked Damon, she thought it was because of her toxic home life that she would fall for a guy who did nothing but tease her. But ever since she was fourteen and she and Damon were stuck working on Mr. Jenkins farm one summer, just the two of them along with one cranky old man and a half blind basset hound, she had fallen for him. There was no Stefan, Elena, Damon triangle, and no bubbly Caroline as buffer, she learned a lot about Damon. Like it was more to him then a boy from a broken home, Damon was a protective older brother, a rock for their mother, smart, and in his own way kind.

They also shared a love for horses after that summer.

She had liked Damon, even before his growth spurt, cleared acne problem, and new athletic build thanks to playing football. She liked him when he was a scrawny kid, struggling to carry a hay stack on awkward legs. But Damon had always like Elena, loved Elena.

He never saw her more than just a best friend after that summer, she was fine with that, she thought.

But than it was Stefan's birthday and Elena was telling her how she was going to break-up with Damon and ask Stefan for another chance. Bonnie had been angry at her best friend and hurt for Damon. He had already graduated but he had stayed in Mystic Falls _for_ Elena. He had damaged his relationship for his brother _for_ Elena. He had asked her to help him pick out a ring _for_ Elena just a day before.

Elena had broken up with Damon that day and Damon had been getting drunker than a skunk. He was heartbroken and angry, as his best friend, she should have made sure he made it home without any problems, instead she slept with him. He had called her beautiful and said he loved her, he was drunk, but that was all Bonnie ever wanted, to be seen as beautiful and be loved, especially by Damon.

Somehow it had began with him knowing it was her, but in the middle of the passion he had called out Elena's name. Her heart had been broken and her illusion disillusioned.

Bonnie moved her son to her shoulder and gently patted his back until she heard him burp. He snuggled into her neck. Bonnie sighed and stood up, grabbing the diaper bag and pushing her phone into her pocket after her call with Caroline had ended.

(SMD)

When she walked into her apartment she wasn't really surprised to hear the whirring of the air conditioner. She flipped on the living room light and placed her sleeping child in his swing. She then headed for her room for a quick shower, leaving both the bedroom and bathroom door open.

When she finished and left the bathroom, dressed in her light blue waitress outfit out into the living room she wasn't surprised to see Damon sitting on the couch, tv on, phone in hand, and Gino's swing and Gino pulled to the couch, facing Damon.

She said nothing to Damon and he said nothing to her as she left for her shift after placing a kiss on her child's head.


	2. Chapter 2

**It has been a really long time I know. I don't have a good excuse why either, considering I've been posting other stories. Anyway, I'm so happy you guys like this story. I hope not too many of you have abandoned me. Thank you. Hopeful next time won't be so long.**

Elena was back in town after being gone for almost a year, and Bonnie knew that had almost everything to do with why Damon hadn't been home in three days.

"She just waltz back in like nothing happened. Like she hasn't been gone for a year and instantly draws in both Stefan and Damon." Caroline complained as she paced back and forth in Bonnie's living room, Gino tucked in her arms. "I mean, she's like a black hole every guy is drawn in and is never seen or heard from again."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Stefan called you an hour ago begging for you back." She said as she continued to fold clothing. Although the blonde and Stefan broke up like every other day seemed like. "Stefan wants and loves you, Caroline, Elena is a none issue. She's just really needy and needs both of their help with moving..." She frowned.

Caroline scoffed. "I don't want to be 'that' girl friend, but come on. Every guy is in love with her and never gets over her, I mean Matt? Poor sap. They dated in middle school and he still hasn't gotten over her. And I know Stefan still has a thing for her, I know that's why I told him we need a break until he can decide what he really wants." The blonde stared her short friend down, ordering her not to even argue. "I mean look," she stomped over to Bonnie and yanked a pair of Damon's underwear she was folding out of her hand, "folding his undies while he's off making heart eyes at the 'love' of his life? Make him do his own damn laundry!" She tossed the mentioned clothing behind the couch.

"Aunty Caroline you shouldn't curse around the baby." Bonnie said tiredly, picking up the laundry basket and setting it on the floor.

"Oh, please, he's heard worse with the way Damon talks to you." Bonnie winced because Caroline was right. "I don't think this is a healthy arrangement," Caroline said softly, "you know that." Bonnie met her friends eyes and saw that she was seriously concerned about her.

Bonnie smiled sadly. "I couldn't keep freeloading on you. It'll work out for now. It has to. I still have to get my GED and Mystic Falls isn't exactly full of job opportunities, but I don't have the funds to go anywhere else right now." She held out her hands to her blonde friend. "Now, give me my baby, you have a class to get to."

Caroline did relent the child but with a pout on her face. "But seriously, Bonnie, think about it... I mean, you can even pay me rent if you want to." She looked at her cell phone. "See you." She waved slowly at the infant who stared at her with big blue eyes. "bye, bye Geegee." She cooed.

Bonnie took her son's hand and returned the wave with a small laugh before she walked her friend to the door. She watched Caroline get into her car and pull away before closing her apartment door.

"Well, its just me and you now," She kissed her son's chubby cheek, making him giggle and reach for her face. "No, no," she said softly. Gino whimpered and squirmed in her arms, pulling a face. "Don't cry," she said in a silly voice, which instantly halted the child from wailing, "you hungry, Gino? Is my baby hungry?" He smiled at her, tears dancing in his blue eyes. He was obviously amused by his silly mother. Bonnie kissed the baby again and made her way into the kitchen. She searched the cabinet for formula, finding one empty can and one can with not enough powder in it to make a bottle. She frowned deeply as she balanced the baby on her hip. She walked over to her purse that was hanging on back of the kitchen table's chair. She rummaged through it for any cash, coming up empty as she had feared anyway. "Oh, Gino..." She sighed. She hugged her baby close to her and kissed him one more time before picking her cell phone out of her purse and heading back into the living room where she sat her child into his swing and handed him a stuffed ball.

She sat on the couch and stared at Damon's contact in her phone. She didn't want to call him. She knew it would just turn into a fight and him making her feel like shit. She wished she had the money. She looked down at her child, finding him staring up at her as he gripped his little ball. She took in a long breath.

"Damon... yeah, I know you're busy," she gritted her teeth at his rude greeting. "Just... can you get some formula, take some time out of whatever you're doing," more like whoever he was doing, "and bring it over." She listened to him complain for about a minute. "Your son needs it, Damon, you jerk, its not for me! Yeah! Fine." She quickly disconnected the call with a huff.

(SMD)

Damon actually did show up a lot sooner than she had thought. Gino had just started to cry and Bonnie felt horrible about the fact that her son was hungry.

She was the worse mother ever.

"Oh big man, don't cry." Damon cooed as he entered the apartment. He didn't even look at her as he sat the bag with a couple can of formula down on the coffee table and took the baby into his arms and started to bounce him. "I'm sorry I took so long." He mumbled to the child as he began to walk with him. Bonnie grabbed the bag and headed towards the kitchen and quickly made her son a bottle. She returned to the living room and tried to get the child back but Damon turned away and held out his hand for the bottle as he cooed at the child. Bonnie sighed and handed it over, She watched as Damon fed the now quiet baby and held him close as he continued to speak softly. It was times like these that Bonnie found the old feelings she held for Damon resurfacing. She could say a lot of bad things about Damon, but she knew he loved his child. He finally sat down on the couch as Gino's eyes grew heavier. "You pooped yourself out, huh, you little slave driver you." He laughed. A moment went by before he looked up at her. "Can you get his bag ready?"

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

His dark eyebrows nearly pinched together in annoyance. "Never mind," he said nastily, "I'll do it myself." He stood back up and headed towards the bedroom, brushing passed her.

Bonnie, of course, quickly followed. "I think I have the right to know where you're taking my son after being gone for three days!" Gino whimpered softly making Bonnie regret speaking so loudly.

In the bedroom Damon was balancing Gino against his chest with one hand while stuffing diapers into the diaper bag sitting on top of the dresser with the other. "So you do know I want his diaper bag because I plan on taking him someplace." He said lightly but his voice dripped with condescension. "And I think you know where I've been so you know where we're going."

Bonnie glared at his back, her arms coming up and crossing tightly in front of her. "You're not taking him there." She demanded. He was not taking Gino to Elena's house.

He turned around, diaper bag on his shoulder, Gino's tiny blue jacket in one hand. He moved towards the bed and placed the child on it as he began to put the child in his jacket. "Oh I am."

"No, you're not."

He tuned to face her again, the child sleeping in his arms. "And why not, Bonnie?" The question sounded so heavy. "You act as if its Elena who did something wrong in this situation." He shook his head. "I did a lot of groveling and now she's willing to forgive. She wants to meet my son, actually seems quite excited about it to."

Bonnie bristled. "First, stop bringing up what we did, yes Damon, _we_ as a way of hurting me and getting me to back down. Its not going to work anymore." She could tell he was about to argue so she forged ahead. "Second, he is my son to, obviously, so no, you can't take him someplace if I don't want him to go there."

Damon rolled his eyes, "Watch me." He moved towards the bedroom door and made it to the middle of the living room before Bonnie caught up to him and blocked him.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" She spat. "Give me Gino, right now."

"Are you trying to wake him up?" He snapped at her. "Move. You're turning out to be the world's best mom, Bonnie, first he's almost starved now you're trying to interrupt his sleep." A low blow and they both knew it, but it worked, because Bonnie just stood there as she moved around her and headed for the door. The door opened and Bonnie heard him pause. "He'll be back first thing in the morning. Its not as if I'm inept at taking care of my own kid, he's safe." He shut the door behind him.

(NN)

Bonnie was angry, no livid. So much so, that she spent the first hour after Damon left pacing the floor and trying to stop herself from rushing over to Elena's house and making a scene.

She tried to tell herself that she should expect this type of thing. She and Damon weren't together, sooner or later Damon would get with someone, in the back of her mind she always knew it would be Elena, and Damon would want them to meet Gino. Meaning, her son would be taken around other women.

But Elena. She knew her ex-friend wouldn't hurt her child as a way of getting back at her and she hoped Damon's obsessive love with the woman wouldn't make him blind to such things if she did. Bonnie just didn't want Gino around Elena when it came down to it. Why, she wasn't sure, not really. A part of her knew it was because she worried about the effect Elena had on males and feared even a little that he her son would end up liking the brown eyed woman more.

After a while, Bonnie had forced herself to study. Deciding to see Damon's near kidnapping of their son as a good thing so she could study. She couldn't focus. Her gaze kept straying to Gino's stuffed baby panda sitting crookedly on the couch.

Bonnie was brought out of her thoughts by frantic knocking. Thinking there was something wrong with Gino, she quickly bolted from the couch and rushed for the door. Throwing it open all she saw was Caroline loaded down with a dozen shopping bags.

"As you can tell I went shopping." Her friend said as Bonnie's body relaxed. "And its all sort of heavy, so you can let me in now." Bonnie stepped out of the way as her blonde friend stumbled into the apartment. "Now, where's my nephew? Believe it or not all of this is for him, none of it is for me. We can have a baby fashion show." She said excitedly. "He better not be asleep, Bonnie Bennett or I'll swear you're slipping the kid pills."

Bonnie closed her front door and stared a her friend for a beat. "You're suppose to be in class." She said dryly.

Caroline shrugged, dropping the bags on the couch. "Professor was sick. Now, didn't I ask you a question?"

"He's with Damon." She said simply, biting her lip from saying anything else. Caroline could obviously smell something fishy, she raised an eyebrow.

"With Damon?" She echoed. "Who's with Elena." Caroline guessed. Bonnie didn't trust her voice and nodded. "And you aren't happy about that? I wouldn't be happy about that. Vent to me."

Bonnie didn't feel like venting. "I rather not, Caroline." She sighed. "I mean, what can I say?"

"Well, you can bitch about the fact that Damon never takes Gino anywhere and the first time he does its because of Elena. You could say, how fucked up it is that they're probably at the park right now like some fucked up bogus family. I mean, come on, Bon, give me something, you're scaring me right now."

Bonnie chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't know..." Bonnie said slowly, rubbing her forehead. When she met her friend's gaze, the blonde must of saw something there because she moved towards her.

"Oh, honey," she said softly and hugged her smaller friend tightly. "Damon's a jerk and Elena's the queen of selflessly selfish town." Bonnie snorted at her friends words, returning the hug. "How about we go out. Act our age and get shit faced drunk and sleep with our later regrets?"

They pulled away from each other and Bonnie thought about it. She hadn't done anything stupid but age appropriate lately. She had no plans of sleeping with anyone let alone someone she would regret again, but she supposed a night out with her best friend couldn't hurt. Damon had Gino and she would keep her phone on her.

She looked up at her hopeful friend. "I'm in."

(SMD)

Lately, life only got as loud as her arguments with Damon and Gino's fussy cries, so the loudness of the club Caroline took her to quickly drove her outside not even an hour in. Caroline had vanished, which reminded Bonnie why she always hated going to clubs with Caroline back in their high school days, the blonde always found some poor guy willing to hang off her while she abandoned her friends.

Caroline was a great friend, but she was starved for attention and she loved when she got any. It was tunnel vision from there on.

So Bonnie stood outside the club, a couple of feet away from the smoking bouncer as she checked her phone for any messages. None.

She sighed and glanced up at the the dark, cloudy sky and shivered a little when the night breeze rushed passed her.

"I take it that this is not really your scene?" Bonnie flinched as her gaze quickly went towards the man standing a few feet from her. "I didn't mean to scare you." He apologized with a sheepish grin.

Bonnie eyed the man. Under the nearby streetlamp and the club lights, she could see he was a young guy, maybe a little older than her. He had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, he was good looking in his plain white t-shirt and denim jeans. His smile was open and kind, contagious.

Bonnie found herself smiling a little. "No... I shouldn't be so easily scared." She glanced at the nearby bouncer just in case this guy wasn't as nice as he seemed. "As for your question... not anymore or... maybe it never really was." She rambled much to her embarrassment.

The guy's smile only grew. "Yeah, me either." He seemed to make sense of what she had been trying to say. "I'm Kai." He held out his hand.

Bonnie stared at the old way of greeting another, in slightly suspicion.

"I promise I wash my hands each time I come out of the bathroom." He laughed.

Bonnie joined him and found her own smile growing, she took his hand. "I'm Bonnie, nice meeting you." His hand was warm, dry, and quite large, dwarfing her smaller hand.

"You're beautiful," he said sort of like he was trapped in amazement, his face reflected his tone. Bonnie frowned. "Oh crap," he was back to smiling sheepishly again as he took his hand back and rubbed his chin. "I was trying so hard not to come across as a creep and totally ruined it didn't I?"

Bonnie smiled a little. "No..." she said quickly, "I was just a little taken a back. Its not everyday a girl hears that." She tried to make him feel better. Being called beautiful wasn't creepy, right?

"Well, I think its something you should be called everyday, because its true."

Bonnie wasn't sure what to say, so she took the compliment with a smile and glanced back at the club. "Why are you here... this not being you're scene and all?" She asked conversationally.

Kai glanced at the club as if he had forgotten why he was there and suddenly remembered, he groaned. "I'm here for my little brother. He's not even old enough to be here and he sneaked out so now I have to come pick him up. Such a wayward child that one." He sighed again. "I really should be getting him..." his gaze returned to her. "I hope this isn't the part where you think of me as a creep, Bonnie, but can I have your number and possibly ask you out to dinner?"

Bonnie thought about it. She thought about for so long it was probably strange. She had a lot on her plate right now, but she thought maybe just maybe she deserved a little her time. Besides, she could always just cut things off if she feels as if that's what she needs to do.

She smiled at the waiting man. "Yeah, sure."


	3. Chapter 3

Bonnie woke up from her fitful sleep where she had fallen asleep on the couch after the nightmare of making sure a drunk Caroline got home alright. It had been a long night of searching for Caroline, pulling Caroline off bar tops, telling Caroline she has to wear a shirt, just pretty much babysitting Caroline.

Bonnie promised herself it wouldn't happen again. If she wanted to take care of someone who didn't have the ability, she would just stay home with her child. Now, it was just coming up with good enough excuses to get out of being dragged to a club with Caroline.

Realizing she had been awakened by a noise, Bonnie looked around her sun soaked living room with blurry eyes. Her mind slowly attempted to join the waking world.

Then she heard it, the front door opening and a sound she could recognize anytime, anywhere, her baby's cries.

Bonnie was on her feet in seconds just as the door swung open and a tired Damon stumbled in, Gino whimpering in his arms.

"Oh my baby," Bonnie cooed quickly swooping in and taking the child from Damon. "What's wrong with my baby?" She kissed his cheeks and rocked him in her arms. The child's cries diminished as he grabbed a handful of her shoulder length hair and snuggled into neck.

"He missed you obviously." Damon stated. He walked further into the apartment and closed the door behind him. He yawned. "I thought he was beyond the whole waking you up in the middle of the night fad."

Bonnie hummed but other wise ignored him as she focused on Gino. Her nose wrinkled as she caught the stench of something foul. "You could have changed him, Damon!"

Damon huffed. "He literally just did that when we were coming up the stairs, smiled like a thief and just tainted my arm forever." He shook his head, handing over the diaper bag on his shoulder when she motioned for it. "Maybe he needs some other type of milk, his shit was all over the place." He waved his hand to show as if that made any sense to her.

She rolled her eyes and laid the child on the couch to change him. She ignored the fact that Damon had just cursed, "really? What color was it?" She asked thoughtfully.

She could feel Damon's dry look. "I don't know...shit colored."

"I think its fine..." she smiled down at Gino as she finished cleaning him up. She would give him a good bath later, but she knew both of them were to tired for that right now. "No was likely just getting you back for taking him away from his momma. Ain't that right, No?" She cooed and blew on the baby's sand colored tummy making his squeal, kick his little legs, and reach for her hair. "You were just getting your mean daddy back." She grabbed his chubby hands and kissed those. She had missed him so much.

Not hearing Damon's response to what she had just said, which was unusual for Damon. She glanced at him, but she found him staring off in the direction of the kitchen.

He glanced back at her, expression odd. "I'm going to bed." He declared as he headed towards the bedroom.

"You sleep on the couch." She reminded him, that he usually used the sofa bed. He grunted something before disappearing into the bedroom. Bonnie sighed as she placed Gino in her lap and kissed the top of his head. A quiet laugh escaped her. "Mommy's good boy."

(SMD)

"Hello?"

Bonnie balanced Gino against her hip with one hand, her phone pressed between her cheek and shoulder, and her other hand furiously shaking a bottled filled with a powder and water mixture. The baby's large blue eyes bounced from her shaking hand to her face and back again. He gurgled.

"Hi... yeah, Bonnie?"

Bonnie frowned as she stepped over to her microwave and jabbed at the stop button with a free finger to stop the sizzling sound coming form her oatmeal. "Yes, this is Bonnie."

"Oh, hi, this is Kai." The voice she now recognized came through the speaker. The short woman's eyes widened as she glanced at her son and mouthed an 'oh'. Gino frowned at her in an impatient way which reminded her a little to much of Damon. She rolled her eyes at her son with a small smile before popping his bottle in his mouth and settling herself against the counter. "I hope you remember me, because otherwise this would be extra embarrassing." He laughed.

"Of course I remember you." She quickly reassured, re positioning Gino in her arms. "Kai, from the club last weekend."

"That's me," he said, sounding relieved, "I suppose someone would remember the guy who awkwardly flirted with them outside an alley in the middle of the night."

"That's not why I remember you though," She laughed lightly at the fact that he was able to poke fun at himself.

"That's a relief..." He paused. "How have you been?"

Bonnie bit her lip and shifted on her feet, suddenly nervous. "Fine, and yourself?"

Kai suddenly laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm horrible at this. I don't do this as often as one may believe for someone my age." He said sheepishly. "I'm not sure if I'm suppose to come out and just ask you on a date or make light conversation while my stomach rolls with nerves that I keep constantly gaining and losing."

A small smile touched Bonnie's lips. "I would like to go on a date with you, Kai."

"Great! How about this Friday around 8?"

Bonnie looked at the calendar on the fridge, seeing that she was free that day. "I'm good with that. That's fine."

"Great, do you know where Parker's is?" He asked.

Of course she knew where Parker's was, it was a restaurant that had came to Mystic Falls a couple of years back and brought with it a bunch of business and growth. The ritzy, high class eatery was the reason the tiny Mystic Falls town wasn't so little anymore with all of the new construction and new residents.

"Yeah...but," she wanted to say wasn't that place to expensive but hesitated.

"We can meet there." He quickly said. "I'll see you then, Bonnie."

He hung up before she could say anything else.

Bonnie placed her phone on the counter behind her and looked down at her droopy eyed child. "I hope I know what I'm doing." She whispered to him before smoothing down his curls and kissing his forehead.

(SMD)

Bonnie quickly parked her dented green car in an available parking spot between all of the newer shiner cars and quickly made her way over to the front of Parker's, dodging the late night crowd.

She was late and it was all Caroline's fault. What had she really expected when she had invited Caroline over to watch Gino and the blonde had taken one look at what she had spent hours picking out before hand and deemed it horrendous. She then had to sit an hour as Caroline made a mess of her bed room looking for clothing in her closet.

So Bonnie was running a little late because of Caroline.

She hesitated in front of the restaurant as she eyed the expensive place, she really hoped Kai didn't want want to split the bill.

"Name of your party?"

Bonnie fumbled, nearly falling because of the shoes Caroline had forced her to wear as she stepped into the building. The hostess smiled at her warmly as she waited for her response.

"Uh..." She said with much grace.

"Bonnie!" The green eyed girl's eyes darted into the restaurant and around the woman, catching site of a waving grinning Kai. He waved her over again as the hostess glanced behind her and glanced back at Bonnie with a slight expression of surprise. Bonnie wasn't sure what that was about, but smiled sheepishly at the woman before slightly ducking her head and moving around the woman to move to the table Kai was now standing over. "I'm happy you came." He smiled, pulling out a chair for her.

Bonnie sat down and tried not to gawk at the expensive décor around her. "Uh... I don't want to sound offensive, but, are you sure this is alright, this place is sort of expensive?" She looked down at the table and was slightly intimidated about the amount of silverware.

Kai's grin grew as he took his own seat. He was dressed in a crisp black suit and looked quite handsome. Bonnie was actually happy Caroline made her wear the yellow dress she was wearing.

"Its not a problem at all." He winked. "I'm pretty sure I'll get a good discount." He looked down before looking up again, expression admiring. "You look beautiful, but that was already a given."

Bonnie bit her lip and looked down. "Thank you," she smiled up at him. He smiled back and picked up his menu and opened it, causing her to do the same.

They made easy small conversation until a waiter came by and took their orders, Kai ordered for them both without really asking Bonnie but she didn't mind considering there was a lot of French and Italian dishes, and she had quite finished high school French.

"I think I should tell you something before this goes any further, that way, I'm not hiding anything," Bonnie said suddenly after a brief conversation about their childhoods. She had thought about this for a really long time before deciding it was best to be upfront. Kai paused in drinking his water and gave her his complete attention, smiling kindly. "I have a child and he comes first. He is still very young so a lot of my attention goes to him." She said quickly. "I just wanted to have that out in the open just in case it was a problem."

Kai's eyebrows shot up before lowering. "I didn't think you were a mother," he admitted, "but that's fine. It changes nothing. You're not only beautiful, but a beautiful mother." He smiled as Bonnie let out a breath. "As long as we're sharing secretes though..." He scratched his cheek. Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "The reason I'm sure I'll get a discount for our meal is that my family sort of owns this restaurant." He winced and laughed at the same time. "Don't think I'm cheap, its not going to be a free meal, I will have to pay. I hope that's not a problem."

Bonnie stared at him. "Your family owns Parker's?" She asked.

Kai nodded. "My last name is Parker." He shrugged. "It was why I'm here, this was my Uncle's venture but... I'm taking over most of his companies now which all happen to be in this area."

Bonnie was shocked. So not only was Kai handsome, but rich, wait until she told Caroline.

(SMD)

"He's loaded," were the first words out of Caroline's mouth when Bonnie walked into the apartment. The blonde was standing next to the window, peeking out of it, in her arms was a sleeping Gino. "And he's he's pretty sexy."

"Why isn't my son in bed, Caroline?" Bonnie sighed, kicking off the horrid shoes.

"What?" Caroline frowned at her moving towards the couch and sitting on it. "He's asleep."

The shorter girl rolled her eyes and took the child from her friend and headed into the bedroom, putting the child into his crib before kissing his head.

"How did you know he was rich?" Bonnie questioned before pulling her door closed a little.

Caroline was holding her lap top in her lap. "I looked him up of course," she patted the seat next to her and pointed at the screen. Bonnie made her way over and flopped down, looking at the screen which had a picture of Kai on it. "Says here, he's the oldest son of Benjamin Parker, a so called heir. Damn...Bon, this family had a butt ton of kids. Think you'll be able to keep up?"

Bonnie smacked her friend with Gino's bib. "Shut up... He owns Parker's."

"And a lot more stuff..." Caroline sighed dreamily and slumped against Bonnie, "does he have a single brother? He has to right, seems like he has a lot of siblings."

Bonnie pushed the blonde off her. "I don't know, we didn't really get into his siblings marital status."

Caroline huffed. "Nice to know you were looking out for me, Bonnie." Bonnie laughed and Caroline smiled a little. "But is there going to be another date?"

Bonnie's smile grew. "I think so."


	4. Chapter 4

**It's been awhile I know. Thank you all for the reviews and for being so into this story.**

Bonnie was working furiously on her paper which had to be emailed in to her teacher that night, completely focused on the task when a spittle covered teething ring landed on her keyboard, making her gasp.

Her gaze flickered to Gino whose face was the picture of perfect innocents where he sat on a blanket a few feet away. She bit back a smile at her adorable child. "Nice throw, Nino." She picked up his teething ring and bent over to hand it to him. "But mommy really has to finish this and then you can have her complete and utter attention."

Gino waved his hands and grinned, gurgling like he understood perfectly what she had said and decided to take pity on her. He began to gnaw on the ear of a stuffed pig who was oddly wearing a suit. Bonnie laughed softly as she returned her attention to her school work.

Only five minutes later she was finished, clicking one last button that sent the paper that would determine her future off to her teacher. She closed her lap top with a sigh and set it beside her before she stood and scooped Gino up in her arms.

She gave him multiple wet kisses, "you were such a good boy," she cooed. "You hungry?" She questioned. "I'm starved."

She took them into the kitchen and set Gino into his new second-hand high chair and strapping him in. He began to kick his little blue socked feet and gurgle more, knowing it was time to eat. Bonnie laughed at him as she took a container of baby snacks from the cabinet. Gino sure loved to eat.

She poured some of the snacks in front of him, his chubby fingers already shoving them into his mouth. With Gino stuffing his face Bonnie started to make herself a sandwich. She had just finished it when her phone started going off in her pocket.

"Hello?" She answered before taking a big bit of her sandwich.

"Hello, beautiful," a smile instantly pulled her lips. "What are you doing?" She quickly chewed up what was in her mouth and struggled to swallow.

"Hi Kai," she greeted. "Me and Gino are just eating after a long couple of hours of studying."

Two months, that was how long she and Kai had been dating. It had been slow at first, but had picked up about a month after. Kai was a good guy, smart, kind, and despite being filthy rich, extremely down to earth. He didn't force her into anything and seemed really understanding.

"Gino's there? My favorite, little man? Let me speak to him." Kai said excitedly. Bonnie grinned lightly as she held the phone to Gino's ear. There was silence before Gino started gurgling excitedly, like he was having an actual conversation with Kai. Kai had only met Gino once about a week ago in person, but they had been 'talking' on the phone for much longer. Gino suddenly squealed with laughter making Bonnie laugh herself. Her heart warmed.

She placed the phone back to her ear, hearing Kai's own laughter on the other end. "What are you saying to my son?" She asked with feigned seriousness.

"Oh," he coughed to cover up more laughter, "just how beautiful and wonderful you are. He agreed. Then he mentioned something about his mommy being his favorite person in the whole world and I may have agreed with him." Bonnie shook her head and blushed. Kai was so smooth. "Oh, and I asked his permission if I could take his mother out tonight. He said it was fine as long as I bought him something cold to chew on."

Bonnie sighed. "Oh, Kai, I would love to go out with you tonight but Caroline is out of town with someone she's dating. I don't have anyone to watch Nino."

"You mean one of her new flings?" Kai said dryly. Bonnie didn't say anything. Kai didn't particularly like, he thought she was too wild. Bonnie couldn't blame him, Caroline's personality was something you had to get use to. But she also thought that wasn't' fair, considering watching Gino wasn't Caroline's responsibility. Her friend had been a godsend when it came to people who could watch and was there for Gino. "What about his father?" Though they had never met, Kai also wasn't too fond of Damon. That one she agreed with completely.

Bonnie sighed again. "I would have better luck making water dry." She shook her head and gave Gino more of his snacks.

Kai was quiet for a minute. "This isn't any of my business, Bonnie, I know, and I'm only saying this because I care for you and Gino a lot. But I don't understand what's the point in having him around if he's just going to make you feel like a single mother? I don't understand. I mean, is there something about the relationship between you two I'm not understanding?" He asked, voice hesitant. Bonnie understood right away what he meant.

"No," she denied sharply. "It's just complicated is all. Damon and I are nothing but Gino's parents." She tried not to sound hurt but it seemed to cloak her words.

"I'm sorry," Kai said quickly seeming to hear the hurt. "I just don't understand how a man can have such a wonderful mother to his child and a wonderful child and treat them the way he treats you." He sighed. "I don't have any right but it makes me angry." He admitted. "You don't deserve to be treated this way."

Bonnie felt tears prick at her eyes at his words. She opened her mouth to say something when she heard the apartment door open. She sighed softly. "Can I call you back, Kai? And I'll be able to tell you my answer on dinner."

Kai was quiet for a moment. "Alright, babe." He said just as Damon walked into the kitchen.

"Bye," Bonnie said as she hung up the phone.

Damon moved towards a still happily eating Gino and popped a kiss on his head. He smoothed down the little boy's curls and popped one of his snacks into his mouth before making a face of revulsion. Gino copied the face perfectly with a laugh.

"Talking to your boyfriend?" Damon questioned moving towards her half-eaten sandwich and picking it up. He took a large bit of it and glanced at her. "That's a good sandwich." He said over a mouth full of food.

Bonnie shot him a look of disgust and annoyance. "You're home." She pointed out as he finished off her sandwich.

Damon rolled his eyes as he moved towards the refrigerator. "I do live here."

"Oh yea, I couldn't tell." She whispered under her breath.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." He closed the refrigerator door. "There's nothing to eat in there." He pouted. Bonnie blinked at him. "Let's go out to eat." Bonnie stared at him harder. He frowned at her. "You don't understand English now, Bonnie?"

Bonnie huffed and moved to Gino, removing him from his chair and placing him on her hip, moving back into the living room. "I'm not going anywhere with you." She set the child into his playpen before turning on the tv.

Damon followed her into the living room. "So, let me get this straight. I try being nice and I get spit in the face the same as when I'm being an asshole?"

"You are an asshole." She said simply, flipping through the channels.

"Its who I am." He shrugged. "Seriously, it's not as if you don't deserve it."

Bonnie bit back a nasty response, that's what he wanted. "Look, I don't want to go anywhere with you because I know it is not genuine. Elena likely had you come over her, saying something about how you need to get along with your child's mother and because she said it, all of a sudden, it's a good idea. Special, perfect Elena selflessly sacrificing time with her boyfriend so he can go play good daddy."

"Jealously isn't a good color on you, Bonbon."

"Just go away, Damon."

"No," he said stubbornly, "I think I'll stay here tonight."

Bonnie shrugged and stood up smiling. "Fine, then you can watch Gino tonight while I go out." Before he could say anything, else Bonnie was already moving into her bedroom, shutting the door.

(Op)

"I would like for you to meet my sister."

Bonnie looked at Kai in surprise. They were in less formal clothes than their first date, Kai looked good in his casual dark blue collared shirt and jeans. The shirt showing off his muscular arms and the jeans showing off his strong legs. They were at a popular burger place, because Bonnie's favorite food was burgers, after seeing a movie.

Kai's sister, the one she was assuming he was talking about was his twin. She was born with a birth defect that kept her bed bound and mute her inter life. Kai talked about her constantly and he truly seemed to love her, especially considering she lived with him here in Mystic Falls.

"A-Are you sure?" She questioned. She knew he was very protective of his sister.

They were sitting outside the burger place at the outdoor eating area downtown. Bonnie had already finished her large burger embarrassingly enough while Kai still had just a little under half.

Kai smiled, his eyes shining. "Yeah, of course. I have met Gino after all." His cheeks turned a little pink. "You have been the subject to a lot of conversations between her and I lately." He admitted.

He really seemed like he wanted this. Despite her nerves Bonnie nodded. Not only would she be going to his house for the first time but meeting his much beloved sister.

(OP)

Kai lived at Mystic Falls largest hotel, which he happened to own, in the penthouse suite. Bonnie had never been in a more expensive place and she tried not to stare like a dummy.

Kai took her jacket once they were inside his home and hung it on the hook beside the door. He then grinned at her and took her hand leading her further into his white and crème themed home.

"Ah, Mr. Parker, you're back." A woman dressed in scrubs jumped when she came upon them once she exited what seemed to be the kitchen with a glass of water. Her eyes darted between him and Bonnie, an awkward silence lingered for a couple of seconds.

"Ah, Judy." Kai finally said and looked back at Bonnie. "Bonnie, this is Judy, my sister's nurse. Judy, Bonnie is my girlfriend." Bonnie face felt warm at the title he had given her as she smiled shyly. They hadn't quite talked about that, but she guessed it was fine, for now.

Judy quickly nodded her graying head. "Of course, a man as handsome as you would have a pretty girl friend."

Kai grinned proudly. "Is Jo asleep?"

Judy shook her head. "No, we were just about to take her last round of pills. Would you like to see her before she goes to bed?"

"Yeah, I want to introduce her to Bonnie."

Judy nodded again. "I will stay down here until your finished then. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you."

Kai nodded as she began to lead Bonnie down another hallway. Soon they were at a door that was cracked open. Kai sent her a quick smile before pushing the door open.

Bonnie was suddenly very nervous as they moved into the dimly lit room. It was big and was mostly muted, relaxing colors. In the center of the room was a large bed, in the center of the white coverings was a slim body.

Kai didn't give her much time to gather herself before he was pulling her towards the bed. They came to a stop beside it as Kai grinned down at his sister. "Hi, Jo, I'm home and I brought someone I would really like for you to meet."

The woman on the bed was beautiful and Bonnie could see the resemblance between Kai and the woman.

The woman moved her eyes a little to look at Kai, seeming unable to move any other part of her body. Her gaze flickered between Kai and Bonnie, eyes reflecting emotions Bonnie couldn't really read.

"This is Bonnie," he introduced, "the wonderful woman I've been telling you about." He turned his head and looked at the open window, he frowned. "You must be cold." He let go of Bonnie's hand and moved to close the window on the other side of the room, leaving Bonnie standing there.

Bonnie bit her lip nervously and looked back down at the woman who was still staring at her. "It's nice to meet with you finally, Jo." She found herself saying. "Kai talks a whole lot of you. All good things." She smiles.

Jo's eyes seem to focus on her lips and a second slip by. Suddenly, Bonnie feels her hand which was resting on the bed being grasped and Jo's blank expression turning into something that seemed like a smile. Bonnie is floored.

"Kai," she calls out quickly.

He quickly rushes over and pulls up short, seeming as amazed as she was. "Jo?" He whispered in astonishment. After a few more seconds he turns large watery eyes to Bonnie. "She can hardly ever move that much and she's never done it for a stranger before." He seems amazed. "Only family ever gets a reaction like that out of her and that's very rare." He suddenly grinned. "You're even more amazing than I thought, Bons." He stepped towards her and landed a big kiss on her cheek. "You're wonderful."

(OP)

Bonnie had just hung up the phone after a conversation with Kai. Another two months had gone by and they were still going strong. She exited her bedroom to find an annoyed looking Damon holding a clingy Gino.

"About time," he snapped, handing over Gino who let out an unhappy wail.

Bonnie struggled to hold on to the wiggling child who seemed to want to go back to his father who was obviously in a rush to leave. "Where are you going?" She questioned in frustration, regretting soon after asking.

He glared at her. "Someplace I was supposed to be an hour ago if it weren't for you talking on the phone to your boyfriend like some love sick high schooler. Did you forget about Gino or something?"

Bonnie glared back as Gino started full on crying. "No, I thought his father could watch him for one measly hour."

She started to bounce the crying child trying to get him to quiet. She started to walk away from Damon, not wanting to get into an argument with him.

Damon scoffed. "I'm telling you right now, if I see more signs of you starting to care about that asshole more than your son I will have Gino taken away from you so fast that stupid head of yours will spin."

Bonnie sat the crying Gino in his play pen before whirling around on Damon. "First of all, "she had never felt so much ugliness towards Damon before, but those words were too much. "You don't even know Kai, Damon, and he's more of a man than you'll ever be. You're the asshole here. Second of all, don't ever try to say I don't care about my son. And third, fuck you, Damon." She yelled at him. "Your son obviously wants you but no, you're too busy chasing the tail of a woman who picked you second. News Flash, Damon, Elena wanted Stefan. She'll always want Stefan, and if it were for your hound dog ways they would still be together."

Damon's expression seemed murderous. "Really? Really?" He laughed humorlessly. "You got me drunk. You had sex with me when you knew that was the last thing I wanted from someone like you." He sneered. "The only reason he is even here is because you're a desperate bitch."

"I'm sick of it, Damon." She had never felt so angry before. "I'm sick of this shit. Most of all I'm sick of that damn lie. You knew, you knew damn well who you were doing what with. I'm sick of you making it out to seem like I'm the bad guy. You wanted to hurt Elena like how she was hurting you."

"Wrong," he shouted like a mad man. "I'm done. I'm the one sick of it. All of it. That kid and you." He stomped towards the door. "Screw it. I wanna see how you're going to pay all of the fucking bills by yourself. I'm done." He slammed his hand into the wall next to the door before storming out of it, slamming the door after him.

The door closing was followed by semi silence, even Gino was gone from full blown yelling to quiet hiccups. Bonnie pressed one hand into her mouth and wrapped her other arm around her as she stared at the floor. There was so many emotions she felt numb.

He was gone. He left and she knew that after all of that nothing could ever be how it was and how it was before wasn't even ideal.

She looked over at a droopy eyed Gino, his face was still red and tear treks marred his face. Her guilt was nearly crippling. Her hands went to her face and then to her hair. Her eyes watered. Her cell phone rang.

It was Kai and she answered. Somehow, she ended up spilling everything that had just happened as she clutched a sleeping Gino to her and silently cried.

Kai was quiet at first and just took everything in. "You should come live with me."

His sudden words threw her off and she frowned deeply. "What?" Was all she could find to say.

"I know, I know," he sighed. "I just don't think you should be there when he comes back, if he comes back." Bonnie remained quiet, trying to think of a way of denying his offer kindly. "It wouldn't be like you were freeloading," he quickly said as if reading her mind, "I told you, my sister has never responded to anyone the way she did you. I think she likes you and I think you would be good for her. Obviously, she would still have her nurse, but maybe you could be a confidant for her." He sighed as if he was frustrated and wasn't explaining himself well enough. "While you're in school, until you can get back on your feet. It can be like a part time job. You and Gino can get room and board plus pay you can save up to get on your feet."

Bonnie was silent. Her mind whirled. "Kai," she began.

"I know," he said quickly, "I'm not just doing this for you and Gino." He claimed. "My sister, I was so happy seeing her lively like she was that night and the days following. Just give it a try, please. You're not bound by any contract or anything, you can leave whenever you want to."

Bonnie looked down at the top of her baby's curly head before her eyes flickered to the hole Damon had made in the wall with his fist. Maybe it was just the emotions of everything and the hurt from the words Damon had thrown at her, but she found herself nodding before voicing her thoughts.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "we can give this a try."


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright another update. Thanks for the reviews guys. Alright some things. The main pairing for this story is Bonnie and Damon. There is no bait and switch. But stories are journeys after all.**

Bonnie watched Stefan hug Gino into his chest as he whispered something she couldn't make out to is nephew. Bonnie walked further into Kai's second living room balancing two cups of tea in her hands, she sat one in front of Stefan on the coffee table while the other went with her to the love seat where she nursed it between her hands.

Stefan looked up at her and nodded in thanks, his mossy eyes studying her. Bonnie pretended not to notice as she watched Gino hug his new stuffed spoon with eyes close and babble nonsense. "Where do you keep getting these bizarre stuffed animals, Stefan?" She questioned with a slight smile.

Stefan returned the smile, "I know a guy." He laughed shortly as he ruffled Gino's hair, which had been growing like crazy. Bonnie noted soon she would have to do something about it, the curls were already all over the place. "How are you?" Stefan asked after a silent moment.

Bonnie shrugged and took a sip of her tea, allowing it to warm her insides. "I'm fine, Gino's fine."

"So, living here is going alright?" He questioned. "Living with this man is the right thing, you believe?"

Bonnie frowned, she didn't appreciate how Stefan had said 'this man'. "It's a better situation than the last place." She snapped. She hoped Stefan wasn't here to get her to try going back to live with Damon. She hoped this visit truly was about him wanting to see his nephew. She didn't want to talk about Damon or think about him. That sore was still very raw. "And Kai isn't just some man. He's a great person and a great friend."

"That's not what I meant," he blurted quickly before trailing off. "He really does miss Gino and he knows he screwed up." He admitted, getting down to the real reason he was here, trying to right one of his brother's wrongs like always.

"Yeah," Bonnie rolled her eyes, wanting to make sure her disbelief was a little more than obvious, "that's why it's been a month and a week since we left and he's only attempted to call a grand total of twice. He's made no real attempt to see Gino."

Stefan grimaced. "You know how Damon is, Bonnie." He said weakly.

"Exactly," she agreed, "I know exactly who Damon is. That's why you're over here and not him because you're a decent person and Damon just isn't."

Gino abandoned the toy and used his hands to climb up Stefan using his shirt and stood on his lap on sturdy legs. Bonnie watched Stefan grin at the sight as Gino smacked his jaws, her anger with his presence diminishing.

"This is new," Stefan observed, mockingly biting at Gino's assaulting hands. He seemed to drop the subject of his brother.

Bonnie nodded with a soft smile. "Yeah, he started doing that about a week ago." Gino squealed with laughter after he smacked Stefan a little harder than before.

"I think he hates me." Stefan joked laughing. After a few minutes of him playing with Gino and Bonnie silently watching, he looked at her again with serious Stefan eyes and creased forehead. "I'm sorry about my brother."

Bonnie didn't know what to say.

(OP)

"Ma ma ma ma," Gino sang happily as Bonnie wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him as hard as she could without hurting him. She cooed and gave his little head kisses. He snuggled to her briefly before pushing away on his little legs, holding onto her sweater briefly. He then toddled a few feet away, each unstable step making Bonnie's chest tighten, to where Kai sat on the ground much like Bonnie herself. The eleven-month-old collided with Kai's chest which was rumbling with laughter. "Ai Ai Ai," Gino chanted. Kai didn't get a chance to grab the child before he was once again toddling away back to his mother. "Ma ma ma ma," he once again sang plopping down onto Bonnie's lap, this time not moving. The child feigned sleep with a smile on his face.

"Looks like someone tired himself out," Bonnie said playfully. She and Kai shared a grin.

They were sitting on the floor of the living room, a gray furry rug stretched out beneath them. Kai had just returned from a two-day work trip. Instead of wanting to go right to bed Kai had pretty much demanded they head to the living room and pop in a family friendly movie, one that was playing in the background and not getting much attention because the adults full attentions were on Gino who seemed to find shrieking their 'names' more fun.

"I like this." Kai said after a moment of just watching Bonnie baby her baby. It didn't take long for Bonnie to realize what he meant, she blushed deeply. She hadn't expected for the arrangement to work out so well, she was happy it was and at the same time it scared her. They were scarily like a family and that scared her horribly. She had never really had a family before, not anything like this. Also, they weren't a family. Kai wasn't Gino's father and Gino had a father, one who seemed less than interested. "What's wrong?" Kai asked seeming to notice her darkening mood.

Bonnie shook her head at first, not wanting to talk about it. She bit her lip as Gino popped his eyes open but quickly closed them again upon seeing her watching. Kai snickered quietly and Bonnie's heart warmed. Gino was so happy, despite his currently absent father. She took in a deep breath. "The day before yesterday Damon's brother came by."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Bonnie didn't answer at first and simply watched Gino, who seemed to find pretending to be sleep boring, toddled to Kai and took up room on the man's lap. Kai plopped a kiss right on top of his curly head. "He wanted to see Gino." Kai stared at her. "I also think he wanted me to be the one to cave in and contact Damon. He wants me to make him be a part of Gino's life. Stefan has always been like that when it comes to Damon. It's like he's the older brother or something."

Kai looked oddly peeved. "Well, you can tell whatever his name is that he's not welcome back in my home if he's not going to consider anyone else's feelings other than his brother's." He said coldly. Bonnie stared at him in surprise. Kai sighed. "Damon really pi- makes me angry, Bon. The way he treated you was reprehensible. I can't believe anyone would justify something like that. I-I just think if Damon wants this, he should come for it himself."

"I just don't want to feel like I'm keeping Gino from him or anything." Bonnie said quietly staring at her son.

"Bons," Kai said fondly, "you're too sweet. What am I going to do with you?" He smiled at her. "No one is keeping Gino from Damon but Damon."

Bonnie nodded. She knew that, she really did. She just didn't want to be the bad guy in this. "I know," she whispered.

"Have you given any more thought on coming with us to the family dinner I was telling you about?" Kai changed the subject and to something she wasn't too keen on either. Kai had asked her to go along with he and Jo to a family dinner his parents were throwing and she was unsure about it. It was a big step and she was afraid.

Bonnie shifted to her bottom to relieve some of the discomfort on her legs. "Kai, I don't know," she said slowly.

Kai frowned softly. "I already sort of told them you were coming." He admitted, frown turning to a look of sheepishness.

"Kai," Bonnie shouted in alarm. Gino echoed her with a silly grin. Bonnie shot her baby a brief smile before glaring in disbelief at Kai. "Why would you do that?"

"I didn't think I was a big deal and I thought for sure you would say yes." He explained. "I mean, it's just my parents and siblings."

"Oh, just the members of your family. Yeah, you're right, it's no big deal." She said sarcastically.

"What is the big deal?" Kai asked seeming truly confused. Bonnie didn't answer, but he seemed to come up with a conclusion as his eye brows shot up. "You're afraid they'll hate you." He laughed a deep laugh, throwing his head back.

Bonnie looked away from him in annoyance. "It's nice you find this funny." She said under her breath.

Kai got a slight hold on his laughter as he rose to his feet, baby in hand, and made his way over to Bonnie and settled close beside her. "I just find it funny you think anyone sane could actually hate you." He looked her in the eye. "My family is going to love you. They'll see exactly what I see in you, a lovely, kind, and strong woman. Whose smart and a wonderful mother," he leaned in and kissed her softly and a slightly longingly on the lips. There was a baby between them after all.

Bonnie couldn't fight her smile despite her nerves. "And they won't see me as some freeloading woman whose making you take care of her and her kid. I know that's not true but people think," she rambled, face warm.

Kai laughed again. "Of course not," he said.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him. "Do they even know I live with you? That I have a child?"

"I told my mother how Jo reacted to you, she's excited to get to know the woman behind that. As for Gino, there hasn't been a baby in the family for fourteen years and going by how many kids my parents kept having, they love babies." Bonnie laughed at that as Kai only grinned.

Bonnie sighed and chose to ignore how Kai already placed her and Gino in his family, such a thought filled her with anxiety and happiness she didn't trust. "I guess we're going with you then." She conceded.

(SMD)

Bonnie finished reading the final sentence of the paragraph and went to close the book when her hand was squeezed lightly but firmly. She looked up from the book and at Jo who had her eyes on her.

Bonnie smiled. "Do you want me to read another paragraph?" She asked. Her hand was once again squeezed. "Alright, alright, one more than I have to go check on Gino and Kai." She flipped the page and began reading the new chapter. When she finished Jo's eyes looked drooped but not closed. She closed the book and sat it on the nightstand, smoothing down Jo's thick hair. "Do you want me to do something with your hair before we go to your parents' house for dinner tomorrow?" Jo's eyes snapped open wide and darted towards were Bonnie was standing. Bonnie's hand which was still held by Jo was suddenly alive with pain. "Ouch, Jo, let go," she winced and tugged her hand out of the woman's suddenly strong hold. Bonnie studied Jo, who was now wide awake and whose breathing seemed to have quickened. She almost seemed afraid to Bonnie. She quickly shook her head, that couldn't be right, it had to be excitement. Bonnie forced a smile, still unsure why Jo had reacted the way she had, "you're excited?" She questioned. Jo had closed her eyes and her breathing had begun to even out. Bonnie placed her hand into Jo's and waited for a reply, but the woman kept her eyes closed and didn't respond. Bonnie frowned and stood there for a little longer until it seemed either Jo had fallen asleep or was pretending to. The young mother bit her lip. "Goodnight," Bonnie whispered, removing her hand she exited the bedroom.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews. Short special chapter from Damon's point of view.**

Damon swirled the brown liquid in his glass around and watched it unseeingly, his mind on other things. The Grill was just starting to get packed for the night and he was just happy his shift had just ended.

"You don't think you spend too much time here, I mean, you work here and play here?" Alaric asked, his voice already slow with tipsiness.

"Shut up," Damon threw back the remain liquid in his glass. He was no in the mood for annoyances, especially ones that came in the form of his drunk friend.

Alaric huffed. "What crawled up your butt and died?" He grumbled. "You've never been pleasant company, but this is just a whole new level."

Damon decided to ignore him and flagged down his coworker who wordlessly refilled his glass. His cell phone, which sat on the bar top next to his hand vibrated and lit up. He took one look at it and pretended it wasn't ringing, taking a long sip of his vice. He could feel Alaric leaning over him to be nosey and roughly shouldered him away, not quick enough though.

"Troubles in paradise, huh? Never thought I'd see the day you ignored Elena Gilberts calls." Alaric said with false innocents. Damon growled in annoyance, he didn't want to talk to Elena and diffidently didn't want to talk about her.

"Can you just shut up for two seconds and mind your own damn business?" He snapped. Alaric held his hands up in mock surrender.

Damon's cell phone vibrated again and thinking it was Elena again, he didn't bother to even look at it. The fact that it had only vibrated grabbed his attention though, knowing that meant he had a text. Finishing off his glass he reached for his phone and trapped the screen and raised an eyebrow to see he had a text from Stefan.

Clicking the text he stared at the picture of his son standing with the help of a coffee table and grinning a sparse toothed smile. Damon's chest tightened and his breath to hitch for barely a second. Using his thumb, he read the words underneath the picture.

'He's starting to stand on his own, do you really want to miss his first steps? Are you really going to let another man raise your son? A Salvatore?'

He strolled back up to look at the picture of Gino again. He really needed another drink he decided, but didn't flag down his coworker.

"Aww, is that Gino" Alaric cooed, once again peering over his shoulder, "he's so cute, makes me want to almost have my own kids. And I really mean to stress the almost." Damon ignored him. He was surprised Stefan had texted him, not that his brother had recently seen Gino. The relationship with his brother had another strike against it because of what Stefan seen as him abandoning his baby's mother and child. Damon didn't see it that way. Of course, he wasn't abandoning Gino or Bonnie, he just needed a break. He needed to sort his thoughts out, that's all. He hadn't actually expected Bonnie to leave, especially not with their son though he knew she would never leave without him. He had been angry when he had seen she was gone, called her twice and left nasty voice messages twice. He had even been so angry he changed the locks to the apartment, thinking that would teach her. She didn't come back that night or the next he sat waiting so he changed the lock back just in case she came back when he wasn't there and needed to get in. She didn't.

He hated to admit he was worried and his pride wouldn't allow him to call Bonnie more than the twice that he did. He didn't know where they were. He had obviously asked Caroline first, earning a pair of keys thrown at his head and almost knock him out for his troubles. Blondie really hated his guts. He finally did find out a name from an unlikely source a couple weeks ago, Elena had told him after hearing from Stefan, that Bonnie was with some guy named Kai. He knew that was the name of the guy she was seeing.

Kai was some rich asshole who as for as Damon was concerned was just fucking weird. His slightly dampening anger was reignited, a bit forcefully on his part, convincing himself Bonnie was chasing money which was the real reason she left not his bastardness, even though he knew she wasn't anything like that.

He loves Elena, that was why he decided it was Bonnie who had to be in the wrong. He did blame her for that night because she was his best friend and she knew how much he loved Elena and let him mess up so big anyway. She wasn't supposed to allow him to mess up so big, she was suppouse to be his working moral compass, not a broken one.

Despite that, he did know. He did know, not deep down, he just did know, that he had a part in what happened that night, obviously. It was just getting him to admit that and stop seeking to place blame elsewhere was the issue. He had always been stubborn.

Damon finally looked away from his phone and sneered, shooting the glare at Alaric who was staring at him. "What in the hell are you looking at?"

"Are you going to call her?" Alaric asked simply. Both of them knew who he was referring to.

He didn't call until a whole day later and was surprised it didn't take more than one phone call for her to answer. He had been shocked silent at first, standing in the middle of the apartment they had once shared still in only his boxers even though it was well after noon. He had worked the night before after all. She sounded hesitant and he would have bet a thousand dollars she was biting her lip waiting for him to speak.

He had asked to see Gino and she had agreed without too much more from him. She had said it would have to be another time because they were about to go out of town. That had annoyed him because the use of 'we' and 'us' had sounded like family speak. His son was not this Kai guy's family and he would even go a step further and say neither was Bonnie. Nope, they didn't belong to that Kai guy. But by some miracle he had reigned in his anger and had simply agreed.


	7. Chapter 7

Bonnie held a sleeping Gino close to her as she watched Kai set his sister into her wheelchair and tried not to look at the mansion like home behind them. It made her even more nervous.

Once his sister was settled in her chair Kai looked up at her with a smile that did help to relieve some of her stress. "You don't have to look so nervous." He placed a swift kiss on her cheek. "Come on." He began to lead them up the paved path leading to the front door, pushing his sister.

It had been a long drive from Mystic Falls to Portland and she was restless. She didn't think she was up to making a good impression. Then there was the phone call from Damon she had received right before they had left. She wasn't sure how to feel about it. On one hand, it was good that Damon wanted to see Gino even if was after a long month. On the other hand, it had been a month and suddenly, he wanted to see Gino? She couldn't help but wonder why. She couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with Elena. Everything he did always came back to Elena.

Bonnie didn't want her son to be some sort of ploy in their so-called relationship. She didn't want Damon in and out of her son life on whims. She would talk to him about just that when she met up with him upon her return.

Bonnie was pulled from her thoughts when she realized they had come up to the door and it had been opened by a pretty, older version of Jo. The woman was already smiling beautifully and threw her arms around Kai. Kai was stiff at first but slowly returned the hug.

"I'm happy you could make it," she said happily. "Where's my girl?" She questioned. After the brief hug Kai stepped aside revealing Jo to the woman. Tears shinned in the woman's eyes as she bent down to place a kiss on Jo's head and smooth down her hair. She cupped Jo's thin cheeks and smiled gently. "Oh my dear, how we've missed you." The woman leaned back, whipping at her face with shaky fingers. "Oh, she's so skinny, Kai. Have you been feeding her enough?"

Kai was watching the scene with a stiff smile on face that didn't even flinch at the slightly insulting question. "Yes, of course, mom. I make sure Jo has the best doctors and they gave me a really healthy diet for her and I make sure the nurses follow them exactly." His eyes briefly flicker to the silent Bonnie. "Mom, this is Bonnie, the woman I was telling you about."

Kai's mother finally pulled her eyes off Jo and smiled kindly at Bonnie, standing up to his full height. Bonnie was relieved to see the smile seemed sincere. "Hello, Bonnie, I've heard great things, though Kai may have been a bit humble when describing your beauty. You're much prettier than he described."

Bonnie's face warmed. "Thank you, Mrs. Parker. It's nice to finally get to meet with you as well. Kai has also said great things when it comes to you."

Mrs. Parker glanced back at Kai and smiled. "Has he?" She turned back to Bonnie. "And please, call me Martha." Her gaze landed on Gino as he shifted in his sleep in Bonnie's arms. "And this handsome little man must Giovanni." Mrs. Parker cooed, she gently laid a hand on Gino's tiny back. "Look at that hair. He's beautiful, Bonnie."

Bonnie smiled at the woman. "Thank you."

"Well, I feel horrible for having you all still standing out here, come in, come in." This time Martha took hold of Jo's wheelchair and led them inside. Kai placed a hand on the small of her back as they entered the large home into a fancy white and green foyer. "You're the first ones to arrive, your other siblings haven't come in yet. Well, Fredrick, Henry, and Ben are here obviously." Kai had told her Fredrick, Henry, and Ben were the youngest of his siblings. Fredrick was just fourteen while the twins Henry and Ben were sixteen. "They're around here somewhere and your father is in his office like always. I should wrangle them to introduce them to Bonnie and for they can greet their sister." Martha said after she had led them into a crème colored formal living room. She parked Jo next to the off-white couch. She smiled at Bonnie. "Is there anything I can get for you? Anything to drink?"

"Just some water if it's not too much trouble."

Martha smiled. "So Polite," she said. She once again kissed Jo on the forehead.

Once the lady was gone and they had sat on the couch, Bonnie shot Kai a nervous smile. "She seems nice."

Kai shrugged. "She is I suppose." He leaned forward and kissed Bonnie just above her lips. "Or you're just irresistible. I told you had nothing to worry about."

Bonnie smiled at him as he took Gino from her arms, noticing the baby was starting to get a little heavy. "We just got here and I haven't met anyone else yet."

"My mom's the hardest one to please," he ran a hand through his hair and looked sort of distracted, "she likes you already. I can tell." Bonnie wasn't so convinced.

A moment went by and Kai was still staring off into space uncharacteristically chewing on his lip. Bonnie frowned at him before leaning over and lightly kissing the corner of his mouth. "You alright?" She questioned.

He blinked briefly before smiling brightly down at her. "Yeah, I'm fine, beautiful." He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "As long as you're here I'm fine."

Bonnie frowned, not sure what he meant.

(SMD)

Kai was right, Bonnie didn't have any reason to worry. His family was pleasant and kind to her and Gino. In fact, as soon as Gino woke up from his nap he and Kai's father, Luke, took to each other like a duck to water.

They were currently playing an intense game of peek a boo which had Gino squealing like crazy, a sound Martha gushed about missing filling up their living room. They had grouped up in the large living room, the siblings breaking off into tiny groups, some playing cards, others just having loud, laughter filled conversations. The only person missing was Kai, who had vanished after dinner much to Bonnie's confusion.

Bonnie sat on the couch with Martha talking about somethings and nothing at all. Martha was holding Jo's hand and kept kissing the woman's forehead. It made Bonnie think the notion of Jo being afraid of her family diminish even more. Jo seemed fine, lively even.

"That meal was the best thing I've ever eaten." Bonnie said once again. She really meant it, Martha's cooking was great. She was surprised that the woman didn't have a cook or anything considering the family's wealth. But she had seen the woman cooking the dinner herself with the help of one of the younger girls who had her own husband, also present, so she knew it was all her doing. She would have helped but knew she would have gotten in the way more than anything.

"Oh, your mother wouldn't be pleased to hear that. I know if one of my children told another woman that I would be mighty angry." Martha laughed.

Bonnie smiled and shook her head. "I don't think my mother would mind. If I've ever eaten anything she's cooked I don't remember. I don't really remember her." At Martha's saddened eyes Bonnie forced another smile. "She left when I was really young."

Martha smiled at her sadly. "A mother's job is hard and not for everyone." Martha looked over to were Gino was playing with her husband. "You seem to a wonderful mother. Gino's lucky he has you."

Bonnie bit her lip and nodded. "I hope so."

Martha reached over and patted her hand. "All we can do as mothers is try our best and hope our children grow up well. Love them, sometimes that's all you can do." The woman took her hand back and rubbed it across her face before rubbing the back of her neck. She looked lost in thought.

"That's really good advice." Bonnie said smiling kindly at the woman, "Thank you."

"I think you're good for Kai." Martha suddenly said, staring down at Jo's fingers. "You're good and he needs good in his life." The woman sighed. "He's always been such a lonely boy." Her eyes moved around the living room, looking at all her children, minus Kai. "My first born has always been a handful and we made a lot of mistakes with him." Bonnie waited for her to say more but the woman simply continued to stare down at her fingers entwined with Jo.

Bonnie wasn't sure what to say or what to make of what the woman said. "I think Kai's good for me," she finally said, "we're good for each other."

Martha finally looked up at her and smiled. "That's good to hear."

"Mom, Fred's cheating again," one of the older siblings shouted, "and he refuses to leave the table. Come get him, please, before I pound his little face in."

"I was not cheating," Fred yelled back. "You just suck, Josh."

Martha rolled her eyes as the two started to bicker even more. The older woman sighed and shot Bonnie an annoyed smile. "Let me go break up the fight between these two grown children and I'll be right back." The woman released Jo's hand and stood moving over to the bickering duo and the snickering siblings.

Out of the corner of her eye Bonnie saw Kai enter the living room and stand silently next to the opening. His arms were crossed and his eyes red as he studied his family in the living room. When his eyes landed on her a strained smile tugged at his lips.

With a frown, Bonnie stood from the couch and made her way over to him. "Are you alright?" She questioned coming to a stop next to him.

He nodded. "I'm fine, Bon." He shrugged again. "You keep asking me that." He laughed.

Bonnie wanted to say it was because he was acting strange, but kept it to herself. "Your family is pretty great, I'm happy we came." She meant her words. She had never had a family like this before. Nothing so big and warm, full of bickering and love. She envied it greatly.

Kai sucked in a breath and smiled with a closed mouth at her. "They only invited me because that was the only way Jo could come." He admitted, surprising and confusing Bonnie, especially with the flippant way he had said it.

"What do you mean?" She asked slowly, glancing around at the family.

Kai shrugged with another smile and took her hand and led her back over to the couch.

(SMD)

Bonnie rolled onto her side in the large bed in one of the guest rooms in the Parker home. Her gaze fell on Gino who was asleep beside her, his butt tooted up in the air as he snored softly. Bonnie felt a smile pull at her lips but it didn't stay long.

Bonnie had noticed something about the family she envied so much. They all seemed not to be very fond of Kai or just plain awkward around him. She also noticed that he tried, he tried really hard to be a part of the conversations and banter. It wasn't really an overt thing. If she hadn't spent time in that room with all of the other Parker family members before Kai entered the living room, she wouldn't have noticed either.

It had bothered her so much she had asked Kai himself why. He had shrugged, a pained look coming to his face before he smiled. He told her that every family had a black sheep and he was it. He told her he was a mean kid, sort of a bully who terrorized his younger siblings with childish pranks and stealing their toys. He said they hadn't quite gotten over it.

He had looked so dejected she hadn't asked anymore questions.

Raised voices coming from outside the door made her sit up slowly and frown at the fancy craved wooden door. With another glance at the sleeping Gino, Bonnie swung her feet around to meet the floor before tip toeing to door and pulling the ajar door open even more and sticking her head out into the hall.

Empty, but she could hear the voice even better now and it seemed they were coming from downstairs. She could make out Kai's voice and she couldn't help but want to hear what was going on. Hesitantly she moved to the top of the stairs for she could hear better.

"For the last time, no." That was Kai's voice, sounding extremely frustrated. "Jo is doing fine in my care, letting her move back here would just uproot her and interrupt routine which is important. We all know that."

"Why are you doing this, Kai?" That was Martha and she sounded near tears if not already crying. "Why are you torturing us like this?" There was a moment of silence.

"I'm doing no such thing." Kai claimed calmly.

"We never get to see her. This is the first time in nearly a year." Martha sounded angry now. "Don't use your sister to play one of your sick games."

"You know where I live, Mother." Kai voice rose, calmness gone. "You all know where I live. If Jo was such a priority, you would have no problem making the trip. Why do you never come see her at my home?"

"You know why," Marth yelled, "You know damn well why."

Kai's scoff was loud. "That's exactly what I mean. You see me trying, you see who I am and the success I have had and you still have the nerve to say something like that. I brought proof to you of how I've changed and that still isn't enough is it?" He asked. "The answer is still no, Jo is going to stay with me like the judge ordered."

"We know who you are, Kai." The woman's final retort was.

Bonnie didn't move still processing what she had heard, so she was still standing there when Kai appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He froze upon seeing her but a second later his shoulders fell as he released a sigh and gave her a weak smile.

He began to ascend the stairs and Bonnie back up a little when he made it to the top for he could get onto the landing, only for him to pull her into a hug. Bonnie didn't hesitate to return the hug. He seemed so upset and she wasn't use to see him like that.

"Should we leave?" She asked once they finally parted.

Kai shook his head. "We'll leave in the morning. We're all exhausted." His fingers trailed down her arm until both of their fingers curved around one another. "Keep me company for a little while?" He asked already pulling her towards his old bedroom.

They weren't sharing a room mostly Bonnie's idea because it was Kai's parent's home and she didn't want the temptation there. Also, Gino would be in any room she would stay and she certainly wouldn't do anything with him in the room.

Kai's childhood room was bland and at the end of the hall. It was clean and untouched, not made into a guest bedroom like all of the other older children rooms. Kai had said it was because the room was always either too hot or too cold depending on the season and his parents didn't want guests subjected to that.

They ended up laying on the bed, atop the blue covers, Bonnie's face resting against Kai.

"The walls also groan a lot in this room." Kai said out of the blue. Bonnie blinked before she realized what he meant. "I hated and loved this room." He laughed.

"Kai," Bonnie started hesitantly. Feeling his fingers brush her hair back she sighed. "What was that all about?" She questioned.

"They want me to allow Jo to come live with them again." He answered, voice emotionless.

Bonnie frowned. "I never asked," she bit her lip, hoping she was talking too much, "why is it that she lives with you instead of your parents anyway?"

Kai was silent at first. "They put her in a hospital, it was right around the time I graduated high school." He said. "They claimed they had too much on their plate to take care of her here at home. The younger kids plus their career expectations. They just dropped her off at some hospital, handed their responsibility over to strangers. They never even went to visit her so my mother's crap about me keeping Jo away from her is such bullshit." He spat angrily. Bonnie sat up and turned to look at him. He sat up on his elbows and avoided her gaze. "The hospital ended being total shit. The employees abused the patients. I didn't know that and it wasn't as if Jo could tell me when I went to visit. Well, one day someone must have reported something because the hospital was shut down. They apparently attempted to contact my parents but numbers they had given them were no longer up to date, but mine was. I had graduated college around that time and was working with my uncle so I took responsibility for her. She's lived with me from then on. There was a court battle when they found out and of course tried to get her back from me but the judge saw my side, agreed that if they didn't care enough about her when she was in the hospital it didn't make much sense for them to care now. Also, I had already set up doctors and nurses for her and she had set routines, doctors' appointments and therapies. So, he decided I would be Jo's legal guardian."

"Oh Kai," Bonnie whispered in surprise. She had no idea that behind the scene there was so much drama in this family.

Kai shrugged. "Its fine, every now and again they bring me to court, but I always win in the end." He smiled at her.

(SMD)

Gino laid heavily against her as she struggled to adjust him for she could knock on the door. He sleepily played with her hair after just awaking from a short nap.

When nothing happened after a few minutes, Bonnie glared unhappily at the door. "Your daddy is such an a-butthead." She whispered to Gino raising her hand to knock again when Damon with nasty bedhead opened the apartment door. "Damon," she greeted coolly, ignoring his shirtless form.

The tall man squinted at her and scratched the back of his head. "You have a key. Why are you knocking on the door?" He snapped irritably.

Bonnie ignored the snappishness and stepped around him into the apartment. "This is no longer my home, it would be rude to just walk in." Damon closed the door behind her before turning to face her. Bonnie looked around the living room, taking in the pristine area. Damon had always been a cleaner. "Plus, I just called you forty minutes ago."

"Yeah, and I got off about an hour before that. Give me my kid." He held out his arms for the sleepily baby. Bonnie didn't have to because as soon as Gino seen it was Damon who was talking he was reaching for his equally as sleepy father.

The smile that came over Damon face as he hugged Gino to him annoyed and made Bonnie feel calm. She quickly looked away and folded her arms over herself. "It's been over a month."

"I missed you, Gino, yes I did." Damon cooed, ignoring her. He walked towards the couch smiling down at the baby who seemed more awake and babbled nonsense.

Bonnie sighed as father and son bounded, deciding important conversations could happen later. She took a seat awkwardly on the recliner and sat silently.

"When are you moving back in?"

Bonnie blinked in surprise. She had zoned out, content watching the clouds outside while Damon and Gino 'conversed'. Bonnie raised an eyebrow at him, seeing he had indeed actually asked the question and directed it at her. "We're not."

He frowned so deeply Bonnie could plainly see the family resemblance to Stefan right then. "What do you mean, we're not?"

Bonnie mimicked his expression. "Exactly what I said."

"You've been gone for over a month, Bonbon, I think its time to stop playing."

Bonnie bit her lip hard to stop herself from exploding. "I'm not going to do this with you right now, Damon. How about instead of arguing with me you enjoy spending time with Gino." She knew she should have just dropped Gino off here, but she couldn't or wouldn't. She just didn't trust Damon anymore, not after abandoning his son for a whole month. She knew Damon loved Gino, how much was the question.

"Just stop," he gritted out, "just stop. That guy is not Gino's father."

Bonnie brows rose in surprise. "Of course not, Damon."

"Then Gino needs to be here with me. He needs to live here with his father not some asshole you let fu-"

Bonnie quickly stood. "I knew this was a bad idea. We're going." She went to grab Gino but Damon twisted his body around, blocking her.

"Fair enough," he growled, clearly unhappy, "I shouldn't have said that. Take a seat."

Bonnie fumed as she stared down hatefully at Damon. The man glanced at her before turning his gaze back to Gino's face. Bonnie only returned to her seat when Damon and Gino both turned to look at her with identical blue eyes. It was a little off putting or stunning rather. "We're not moving back, Damon." She said. "And keep your rude comments to yourself for once."

Damon made a humming noise like he didn't believe her or he was just being his normal obnoxious self.

Bonnie sighed, this was going to be a long day.


End file.
